Flow-line switch for elevators



0. I. LEHRACK. FLOW LINE SWITCH FOR ELEVATORS. APPucmou FILED JAN. 11. 1921.

1,434, Pateniid Nov. 7, 1922.

INVENTDRI Illelna c K 0 i ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 7, "i922.

OTTO J. LEHRACK, Cl KANSAS CITY, IVIISSO'UBI.

FLOW-LINE SVITCH FOR ELEVATGHS.

Application filed. January 17, 1921. Serial lilo. 437,784.

To all, whom it may concern:

Be known that I, Orro J. LEHRAOK, citizen oi the United States, and residentof Kansas City, county of Jackson, State of :llissouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Flow-Line Switches for Elevators, of which the following is a complete specification.

This invention relates to flow line switches for use in grain elevators or other cons structions employing similar operations, and has for its object to produce a device of this character whereby the flow of grain or other material may be distributed from a source of supply into any one of a series of containers, and also of such a nature that grains oi? ditl erent character, as when preparing a mixed teed, may be ted from a series of separate sources and upon their entry into the hopper cornposiug the switch may be mixed and dis charged into a single container.

A still further object is to produce a device of this character of simple, strong, durable, eiiicient and inexpensive construction; and in order that it may be fully un derstood. reference may be had to the ac companying drawing, in which Figure l is a central vertical section taken through the hopper and its communicating pipes on the line II of Figure 3.

Figure 2 is a section on the line lL-ll of Figure 1; and

F'gure 3 is a broken sectional view taken on. the line IIIIII of Figure 1.

in the said drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the .ligures, 1 indicates a series of feed pipes leading from any sources of supply and communicating with a guide box 2, havlug downwardly and inwardly sloping side walls 3 and being open at its ends, as shown in Figure 2. Communicating with the guide box through the bottom thereof are a series of discharge pipes 4, the opposite ends of the pipes being in communicatlon with suitable receptacles.

Fitting within the guide box, and free from endwise movement therein, is a distributing hopper 5 formed with vertical side walls 6 and downwardly and inwardly sloping end walls? forming-a receiving moutl18 for the hopper of a size sufiicient to remain in continuous register with all of the feed pipes l, regardless oi the hoppers position, and forming at its bottom a discharge and be supported by a series otrollers ll a mounted on pins 12, secured to the side walls 3 of the guide box in any suitable manner. It will be understood that it will be neces sary to limit the endwise travel of the hop per in order that it may continuously register with all of the feed pipes 1, and for performing this function the top or the guide box may he :t'ormed at its ends with downwardly extending stop flanges 13 for abutment by the end walls 7 oi the hopper.

Any preferred control apparatus may be adopted for convenience in changing the position oi the hopper and indicating such position at all. times. The control apparatus herein shown consists of a pair of perforated plates l-l secured in any suitable manner to the end walls or the hopper near one side thereof, and secured in the perforations of the plates are the opposite ends of a cable 15 threaded over guide sheaves 16, pivotally mounted in bifurcated brackets 17 secured in any suitable manner at opposite ends of one side wall of the guide box. The cable 15 then passes around an indicator drum 18 which is located at any desired point. The

face or dial of the drum, not shown, is sup-- plied with a series of indicating marks, which will show, in conjunction with the index arm 19 of the drum, the exact position of the discharge mouth or? the hopper within the guide box.

From the foregoing it will be seen that l have devised a practical and eliicient construction for carrying out the desired objects ot the invention. The hopper 5, by manipulation of the cable 15, may be shifted in either direction for bringing the discharge mouth 9 thereof into selective communication with any one of the discharge pipes 4, while the size of the receiving mouth of the hopper is obviously sufficient to remain at all times in communication with all the feed pipes 1. Thus material may be received into the hopper from any one of the feed pipes 1 and discharged into any one of the discharge pipes l by appropriate positioning oi the hopper 5; or, in case a mixed product is to be obtained, the different in gredients may be fed through two or more of the pipes 1 into the hopper and mingled therein and discharged thereby into the proper discharge pipe l, the position of the hopper being regulated accordingly. The construction is extremely simple and comprises no parts likely to get out of order, and the operation is readily effected by the convenient manipulation of the cable 15 for controlling the position of the hopper. While I have illustrated and described. what I now regard as the preferred form of construction for embodying the improvement, I desire to reserve the right to make such changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims. is I claim 1. In a device oi the character described, a feed pipe, a series of discharge pipes, a horizontal hopper guide, and a hopper mounted for back and forth movement in said guide into selective communication with said discharge pipes.

2. In a device of the character described,

a horizontal hopper guide, a feed pipe and a series of discharge pipes in communication with said hopper guide, a hopper mounted for sliding movement within said guide, and means whereby the discharge mouth of the hopper may be placed in communication with any one of said series of discharge pipes.

3. In a device of the character described,

a hopper guide, a feed pipe and a series of discharge pipes in communication with the upper and lower sides, respectively, of said hopper guide, the side walls of said hopper guide being provided with inwardly projecting supporting means, a hopper mounted for sliding movement on said supporting means, and means whereby the position of the hopper may be varied for discharge into any of said series of discharge pipes.

4. In a device of the character described,

means whereby the position of the hopper I may be varied in either direction.

The combination with a grain delivery trip having oppositely disposed grain delivery chutes in the bottom thereof, of a hopper slidable transversely of the trip and having an opening in the bottom co-exteir sive with the opening of one of the delivery chutes whereby when .the hopper is in alignment with one of the delivery chutes the other delivery chute will be cut o'li' from effective communication with the trip and vice versa.

6. The combination with a casing having oppositely inclined delivery chutes, of a sliding valve member in the casing having inclined bottom members spaced apart at their lower ends to provide an opening to deliver into the delivery chutes, and means for sliding the valve member so that the op ng in the sliding valve member may register with either delivery chute.

T. A, casing provided with oppositely inclined delivery chutes, a trough-shaped member slidable within the casing and substz'mtially the width thereof, the troughshaped member having an opening in its bottom co-extensive with the opening in a delivery chute, and means for operating the trough-shaped member.

In witness whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

OTTO J. LEHRAOK. 

